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In from the cold this Christmas

Date posted: Friday 15 Dec 2017

Merry Christmas everyone! It’s been a joy for me to become part of what I’ve come to know is an extremely dedicated team here at WLM Seymour Place, with unwavering commitment to helping people move away from the chaos, danger and poor health of life on the streets of London.

2017 has been a year of transition; from project name-changes, to long-serving staff members moving on and new people arriving, to the profound transformation we see daily in the lives of our valuable clients, filled with potential, who've found themselves coming to us in crisis and out of options.

WLM Seymour Place and WLM Night Shelter are marked with kindness, compassion and a sense of refuge for the homeless people we work to empower. As one of our shelter guests said:

"The kindness of this place, and the people, is healing."

Last Christmas, Winston lost his flat in Deptford after requesting his landlord undertake some urgent yet neglected basic repairs. He became homeless for the first time, sleeping on night buses, and in McDonalds at Elephant and Castle.

When he came to Seymour Place, he was exhausted and filled with anxiety. We were able to provide him with a place in our WLM Night shelter, and then found the perfect accommodation for him in Reading. He is extremely gifted and while he was homeless, was a regular in our arts and music groups. Winston still calls in to the groups, reconnecting with friends he made here, encouraging them to take hold of similar life-changing opportunities we are creating for them.

Since last Christmas, we've helped 252 people off the streets. There is a critical need for our services at this overwhelmingly lonely time of year. We need you to make the difference for our clients by supporting our work of hope!